What is special about tomorrows eclipse

Hi, I also read that another eclipse of equivalent duration will not happen until after the year 2100. The moon is also said to be at a point in its orbit where it is closest to the Earth. This has again raised the discussion of gravitaional alignment during this event triggering Earthquakes near the 3 Gorges Dam.

The eclipse — visible only in Asia — will reach its peak in India at about 6:20 a.m. local time (8:50 p.m. EDT; 0050 GMT), and will last 6 minutes and 39 seconds at its maximum point. While the moon eclipses the sun an average of 238 times every century, only 28 percent of those events are total eclipses, in which the sun is completely blocked from view. Although this means that a total solar eclipse can theoretically be observed every year-and-a-half, the blockage of the sun is visible from a different location on the Earth each time, so a total solar eclipse will only occur at any single location about every 450 years, he said. The significance of today’s total solar eclipse — aside from the fact that the next one will not be seen in Taiwan until 2070 around Kenting — is its long duration. Theoretically, a total solar eclipse can last a maximum of seven minutes and 31 seconds, so today’s eclipse, which will last six minutes and 39 seconds, is an extremely rare occurrence. What makes today’s spectacular event even more special, he said, is that the total eclipse will be visible over a long, narrow corridor spanning about 3,000km across Asia and the Pacific Ocean. A chain of fortunate coincidences makes the rare occurrence possible. First, the moon yesterday arrived at the nearest point in its orbit to the Earth — its perigee — while the Earth reached its farthest point from the sun — its aphelion — at the beginning of this month, so the moon will appear to be 8 percent larger than the sun today. Second, the moon will enter a new moon phase today, which is essential because total solar eclipses only occur during a new moon. The third coincidence is that shortly after the new moon phase begins, the moon will reach the descending node of its orbit, where it will come between the Earth and the sun and cast its shadow over the surface of the Earth. Hope this helps, Mari